184 Records of the Indian Museum. [VOL. V, 
as the hinder part of the body gradually tapers a little towards the 
root of the caudal fin. The ventral profile is somewhat curved, 
with the convexity downwards, the lowest point being the anterior 
root of the ventral fin. 
Lateral line —Complete, generally follows the curvature of the 
ventral rather than that of the dorsal profile ; in the anterior one- 
third it slightly curves downwards then upwards to reach the 
upper corner of the opercle. 
Scales of moderate size, all over the body except on the head. 
Atr-bladder very much reduced and enclosed in paired osseous 
capsules placed dorsally behind the gills. 
Colour.—Head down to the level of the eye dark brown or 
grey with black patches and spots interspersed irregularly. Body 
above the lateral line dark brown or grey divided by obliquely 
transverse thick black bands looping round the back and extending 
to below the lateral line, the interspaces being often quite as broad 
as the bands; 5 to 6 such bands in front of the dorsal fin, 4 to 6 
below the fin and 5 to 6 behind it. The ground colouring of the 
sides of the abdomen below the lateral line is of lighter brown 
to pale yellowish white dashed with silver ; the part of the sides 
immediately below the lateral line is characteristically marked 
with 12 or 13 wedge-shaped blackish brown or grey inverted-cone- 
like markings the apices of which reach some distance below the 
lateral line, along which the bases of these cone-shaped markings run. 
These markings appear to be in reality the intercepted terminals of 
the transverse bands mentioned above. The interspaces between 
the cones are broader than the breadth of their bases. About the 
middle of the interspaces a fainter and narrower series of grey or 
pale brown interrupted markings are noticed which are detached 
below the lateral line, and disappear above the apices of the cones. 
These faint markings make the darker cones still more conspicuous. 
Fins: the dorsal fin is pale brown or grey with five or less black 
or brown bands made up of spots; the caudal is also pale brown 
and is banded with six black or brown convex curves in some 
(one Naini Tal and one Champaran specimen) and wedge-shaped in 
others (Saran and Champaran specimens). The convexity of the 
curves and the apices of the cones, as the case may be, always 
pointing outwards (posteriorly). The pectoral, ventral and anal are 
not banded but are pale yellow to dull white, being somewhat 
similar to the lower abdomen. There is a black ocellus on the 
upper border of the root of the caudal fin. 
Secondary sexual characters.—There are two male secondary 
sexual characters to be noticed in the type specimens from Cheriya- 
dhang (U. P.), firstly, a slit-like deep groove in front of the eye 
which bends round a small knob-like rounded flap of skin protrud- 
ing below the anterior one-third of the orbit, the ridge above the 
groove appearing slightly swollen and cushion-like; secondly, 
there is a kind of padding and thickening on the upper surface of 
the pectoral fins, where, on the padding, minute hooked denticular 
outgrowths are noticed. 
